Revised version of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures

It’s been a while since I have been on here and I was wishing to add this a month ago when I got the really good news but well time got away from me. Saturday and Sunday October 5^th and 6^th, 2013 the 2013 Annual Meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses was held for different groups each day. This was the first year that all were invited to attend and watch via satellite feed to New York. Usually only Bethelites or special pioneers or traveling overseers and a few others attend but it was broadcast live for who ever wanted to see it. Me and my parents carpooled with a fellow Sister and 3 others to go 45 minutes away to a large Kingdom Hall where we watched a screen that had a live feed to Stanley Theatre. It was a 3 ½ hour meeting.

It was so cool hearing from some of the governing body and other brothers. It was so cool when they talked about this museum piece there at the New York Branch that is housing these rare bibles or pages from a bible manuscript from as far back as the 1500’s that had Jehovah God’s name in them. It was also really awesome to hear about what it was like when the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was released book by book from 1950 to I think 1961 and then to have it all be one book, but the coolest thing ever happened (I’ll get to the wonderful thing in a moment, LOL)…. They started saying about how people have been writing them because they haven’t been getting their bibles at the Kingdom Hall and indeed we had the same problem. We couldn’t get bibles at our Kingdom Hall for well over a year or two.

(Here is the wonderful thing!!)…Well it was told why. For the past five years they have been working on a revised version with 21^st Century words. There is for now just the new English Revised Version. They swapped certain words to others that people in 21^st Century will understand the meaning of the text better. It didn’t change the bible text it just made it easier to understand, like they changed words like totter to fall and harlot to prostitute. So the words mean the same but are better understood today as words have changed over the years. But there is more, the bible has a new font and foot notes about what words were changed in a verse. The center margin is easier to read too. There are maps in the back and glossary of bible terms. The front has an introduction to God’s word with twenty different questions and the scriptures that answer the questions. It is so AMAZING!!

We saw those in the Stanley Theatre get theirs but we didn’t think we would get ours that Saturday. So after that I went to the restroom during the song but I saw some brothers in the back and I thought something was going on. So a few minutes later my mom burst into the bathroom and told me they released the bible to us all in the Kingdom Hall. Every sister was crying and the brothers and sisters were so excited. A lot of us weren’t there when the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was first released but we were there for the revised version release. It’s so cool that I was there for the new song book and now the revised bible, because I wasn’t even born when the others came out as I am only 25 years old. All this new material and new understandings are quite exciting to receive and delve into. :~)

I am very excited to be posting about this wonderful news. I am sorry though that it took me a month to get around to bloging about it. Here are the pictures of the new English revised version of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Pretty isn't it. :~)